Ola Electric may face regulatory scrutiny over a potential mismatch in its reported sales figures and actual registrations with state transport departments. The company has announced that it sold 25,000 electric scooters in February. However, according to data on the Vahan portal, at the end of February, only 8,651 scooters were registered — a gap of 16,349. As on March 17, the portal shows registrations of 8,230 scooters. This is likely to include some sales of February as well, still leaving a substantial gap, as it is not possible that there have been nil sales so far this month.
As per the Motor Vehicle Act, vehicles need to be registered with the transport department of the states concerned within seven days of being retailed. The Central government’s Vahan portal records all registered vehicles, which forms the basis of capturing retail sales data.
An Ola Electric spokesperson did not respond to FE‘s queries on the discrepancy till the time of going to the press.
Experts say the discrepancy is significant enough to erode investor confidence. Shriram Subramanian, founder and MD of InGovern Research Services, told FE: “The gap is too large to ignore. Ola must issue a clarification, otherwise, how can investors trust any of its numbers?”
He added that both the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the stock exchanges must seek explanation from the company on the discrepancy in the numbers. If proven, Ola could face penalties, Subramanian said.
According to Ola’s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), filed before its IPO, revenue is only recognised by it upon scooter delivery and same-day registration.
“They may have reported bookings as actual sales to create a favourable market sentiment,” an executive from a vehicle registration services firm said.
As per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, dealers cannot deliver a vehicle unless it is registered — either temporarily or permanently. If Ola bypassed this, both the company and the customers could face legal consequences, as driving an unregistered vehicle is illegal.
“Even for temporary numbers, the vehicle must first be registered on Vahan. In rare, emergency cases, we deliver without registration, but we complete it within 24 hours,” a two-wheeler dealership executive said.
Recently, Ola ended its contract with registration service providers, Rosmerta Digital and Shimnit India, opting to handle registrations in-house.
Rosmerta Digital Services and Rosmerta Safety Systems have filed an insolvency petition against Ola Electric’s wholly owned subsidiary, Ola Electric Technologies, for Rs 24.5 crore in unpaid dues. after the report, Ola’s stock tanked 7.18% on the BSE to close at Rs 46.91 on Monday.
